Epipolar resampling of linear pushbroom satellite imagery by a new epipolarity model

This paper presents a practical epipolarity model for high-resolution linear pushbroom satellite images acquired in either along-track or cross-track mode, based on the projection reference plane in object space. A new method for epipolar resampling of satellite stereo imagery based on this model is then developed. In this method, the pixel-to-pixel relationship between the original image and the generated epipolar image is established directly by the geometric sensor model. The approximate epipolar images are generated in a manner similar to digital image rectification. In addition, by arranging the approximate epipolar lines on the defined projection reference plane, a stereoscopic model with consistent ground sampling distance and parallel to the object space is thus available, which is more convenient for three-dimensional measurement and interpretation. The results obtained from SPOT5, IKONOS, IRS-P5, and QuickBird stereo images indicate that the generated epipolar images all achieve high accuracy. Moreover, the vertical parallaxes at check points are at sub-pixel level, thus proving the feasibility, correctness, and applicability of the method.